US2276377A - Clothespin - Google Patents

Description

March 17, 1942. J. DUFFEK 2,276,377

CLOTHESPIN Filed Jan. 11, 1941 Patented Mar. 17, 1942 r OFFICE CLOTHESPIN Joseph Duffek, Gloversville, N. Y. Application January 11, 1941, Serial No. 374,091

3 Claims.

My invention relates to clothespins and particularly to an improved type of wire clothespin which may be readily attached to or detached from the clothesline, which cannot accidently be disengaged therefrom, which can be positioned to move freely along the line but which, when in use as a support for clothes to be dried, can be easily anchored or secured against sliding along the line.

It has heretofore been proposed to form clothespins of wire, most of which are complicated in form and many of which require a special type of line for use therewith in order to prevent sliding of the pins on the line.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide a wire clothespin having the features above set forth, which is extremely simple in construction and which is preferably formed of stainless steel or other equivalent corrosion-resisting metal or metal alloy such, for example, as Monel. I attain these objects by forming my clothespin as described below and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1 is an elevation view of the pin showing the clothesline in cross section; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation View showing a slight modification.

Referring to the drawing, l represents the pin generally which is preferably formed of a single length of stainless steel or other corrosion-resisting alloy wire. 2 is a cross section of the clothesline. In the relative positions shown in the drawing the pin may be moved freely along the wire. 2' illustrates in dotted outline the cross section of the clothes-line in wedged engagement with the pin so that the pin is secured against sliding along the line. My pin comprises an elongated shank portion 3, an upper end portion 4 and a lower end portion 5. The lower end portion 5 is bent, about the point 6, back along the shank into close proximity therewith, as shown at l, to form a clothes-engaging hook, while the other end portion of the wire is bent back along the shank about the point 8 to form a line-engaging loop 9. In the zone Hi the sides of the loop 9 are spaced apart a distance preferably somewhat greater than the diameter of the line 2 so that when the line is positioned in this zone of the loop the pin may be slid freely therealong. From the zone 10 the sides of the loop 9 converge both toward the closed end of the loop 8, as shown at I l and also towards the open end of the loop, as shown at [2, until the space between the sides of the loop, in either case, is substantially less than the diameter of the line. Thus, by

merely pulling the hook down on the line the line may be wedged in the upper portion of the loop, as shown at 2', and by pushing the pin up on the line it may be removed therefrom by squeezing the line through the passage l3; it being understood that the wire is of proper gauge and stiffness so that the sides of the loop about the passage I3 may yield slightly to permit the passage of the line therethrough. The extreme end of that portion of the wire which is bent back in close proximity with the shank in order to form a clothes-engaging hook preferably diverges from the shank to provide a tapered passage [4 in which a corner of the clothes to be supported by the pin may be easily guided into the hook. In order to avoid sharp points at the ends of the wire they are preferably curled over, as shown at l5 and I6.

In order to provide proper resiliency both in the line-engaging loop and in the clothes-engaging hook without exceeding the elastic limit of the wire, I prefer to make the bends at the end of the shank about a diameter at least as large as the diameter of the wire, as shown at II in Fig. 1 and I8 in Fig. 2.

In order to facilitate the entrance of the line into the line-engaging loop I prefer to bend outwardly the extremity of the wire at the opening into the loop as shown at I9 and also to bend the shank in a direction away from the end I9, as shown at 20, and thereafter to bend the shank, as shown at 2 i, to bring the bottom of the clothesengaging hook on a vertical line through the center of the line-engaging loop.

From the foregoing it will be'apparent that I have provided a very simple and eiiicient form of wire clothespin which is cheap to manufacture and which can be used with any type of line, either wire or rope.

One of the other great advantages of my clothespin resides in the fact that it need. never be removed from the line and since it cannot be accidentally disengaged therefrom it is always in place when needed.

What I claim is:

1. A clothespin formed of a length of resilient wire and comprising a shank portion intermediate the ends of said Wire, one end portion of said wire being bent back into close proximity to said shank to form therewith a clothes-engaging hook, and the other end portion of said wire being bent back along but in spaced relation to said shank to form therewith a line-engaging loop; the sides of said loop being spaced from each other in one zone of said loop to form an-opening providing substantially free passage for a clothesline therethrough but converging from said opening towards the adjacent end of said shank portion until the space between, them is substantially less than the diameter of said line, and also towards the adjacent free end of said wire to provide a restricted opening through which the line may be forcibly passed; whereby said pin may be secured against sliding on said line by wedging said line between the converging sides of said loop, and also readily attached to or removed from said line.

2. A clothespin formed of a length of resilient, corrosion-resisting wire and comprising a shank portion intermediate the ends of said wire, one end portion of said wire being bent back into close proximity to said shank adjacent the point of bend and thereafter diverging from said shank to form therewith a clothes-engaging hook, and the other end portion of said wire being bent back along said shank to form therewith a lineengaging loop; the sides of said loop being spaced from each other in a zone intermediate the adjacent end of said wire and the adjacent end of said shank to form an opening providing substantially free passage of said line therethrough, whereby said pin may be slid freely along said line when said line is disposed in said zone; and the sides of said loop thereafter converging towards the adjacent end of said shank and also towards the adjacent end of the wire to reduce the clear space between them at either side of said zone to substantially less than the diameter of said line; whereby said pin may be secured against sliding on said line by wedging said line between the converging sides of said loop at the top thereof, and readily attached to or removed from said line by forcing it between the spaced sides of said loop at the bottom thereof.

3. A clothespin formed of a length of resilient Wire and comprising a shank portion intermediate the ends of said wire, one end portion of said wire being bent back into close proximity to said shank to form a clothes-engaging hook, and the other end portion of said wire being bent to form with said shank an elongated, line-engaging loop open at one end and into which said line may be forcibly passed through the opening thereto; said loop in one zone thereof providing substantially free passage therethrough for said line, whereby said pin may be moved freely along said line, and the sides of said loop converging from said zone towards the closed end of said loop, whereby to form a line-engaging zone into which said line may be wedged to prevent free movement of said pin along said line.

JOSEPH DUFFEK.

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